Ratings and Reviews by ChanceOfFire

With directional choices as well as an ultra-simple inventory system and puzzles along the way, Dead Sea reminds me of a parser game, but one which has been built in a choice based format.

You will need to complete puzzle after puzzle to complete the game. None of it was overly difficult, and I never found myself stuck, although some of the puzzles might be a little tedious, especially as you may have to pick up item A and item B, before heading to location C to trade those for a critical item to advance the story. It struck (in my opinion) a good balance between challenge and fun, but with that said, I'm a casual gamer, so ymmv.

The story and writing is on the lighter side. The setting seems to be some medieval setting with some modern and sci-fi items, all within a dreamlike storyscape. It was fairly entertaining, although nothing particularly stood out in this department. Sometimes, I was unsure why I had to do x or y, other than to move the story/game forward, but if you're just here for the puzzles, I suppose it's not too big a deal.

It was a fairly entertaining short experience.

In this tale, you play as Dr. Watson, working together with our Detective Holmes to solve a mystery. While this is a choice based IF, it is more of a linear story than a mystery game. You get to make a few choices here and there, but the game largely guides you towards solving the mystery.

Watson is brought in to investigate a murder, but is quietly incapacitated during the investigation. However, during this time, his consciousness is transferred into various animals and people, allowing him to carefully puppet them and use them to nudge Holmes towards solving the mystery. It is not quite explained how Watson stumbles upon this unusual power, and while you get a few choices here, the game largely puts you on the straight path to exposing the murderer.

This is a better read if you want to read a mystery rather than actively try to solve one. Not saying it's a bad thing, of course. That said, there is one other thing I'll address.

Most of the art in the game appears to be AI. Strangely placed doorknobs, unusual buttons on clothes, strange shadows and so on. The game's description clearly declared the use of AI, and IFcomp doesn't prohibit it, so I can't really penalize it here. Another thing I'll also say is that the technology has been improving, and it has been harder and harder for me to pick out the little AI tell-tale signs these days. Still, while pictures generally could be used to add flavor to a game, I don't think it's absolutely necessary, and it can be immersion breaking when my eyes spot some out of place art because the machines haven't quite gotten it right.

Anyway, these are my thoughts as a whole.

Assigning a star rating to this game was tough. As others have pointed out, this game is very very incomplete. The description mentioned that an update should be out on the first of september, but about four weeks later, this game still resembles a construction site.

I had a pretty hard time reaching the end of the seven day work period in the game, as there were a good number of dead ends when I tried interacting with the horses. By that, I mean just reaching a point where there were no options to proceed. There were also plenty of times where I saw a "Coming soon, sorry" message, along with other strange and buggy messages.

Even when I did find a set of options which took me to the end, the whole thing was still bugged out. A horse which I killed earlier participated in the race with seemingly no problems. At that point, I wondered if it was even worth the bother.

That said, the concept is pretty interesting, and the writing, while rough in some spots, was entertaining and humorous. Talking with horses, trying to push their buttons all while fulfilling your goal - that had the makings of a great game. If this game was complete, it could have been fantastic, but as of now, it's largely a construction site.

Giving this three stars was a tough choice. It is simply way too unfinished to be an IFcomp entry. That said, before calling up the nearby glue factory, I'll probably also add that this game could be really good in a completed state.

This is a pretty linear entry, with a couple of small choices with some impact on the following text, although this story is largely a linear tale with a message.

Applying for my driver's license at the MVA, getting my SSN, filling up the forms, that felt like one big headache sometimes. Still, that's easy mode. I can imagine that it's way way tougher if you're trying to apply for SNAP, and suddenly realize that you are missing your photo ID and paperwork because someone stole your stuff the day before. Everything needs to be in order, and even then, you'll be dealing with broken machines and overworked staff at times.

This game shows you all these struggles through the POV of an alien who is doing some research on humankind. You make a few choices (minor impacts), take notes, while looking at how the system is difficult on people in different ways. At the end, you have an interesting conversation with one of the species you are studying before the game closes with a message.

Minus some typos here and there, the writing was solid for the most part, and I felt it was a thoughtful read.

When I first read the description, I was expecting a game where you are given a fixed amount of money and then have to make choices on the right things to buy. The game also tries to string you along by giving you that impression with the first few choices. Still, it does not take long to notice that something is amiss.

Halfway though the game, the reveal occurs, and really hits you as to the true reason why you’re doing grocery shopping this very day and browsing all the largely bare shelves. It was a fairly interesting twist. You get a few choices in the game, around buying stuff, but as far as I can tell, it doesn’t have a huge impact on the game.

Well… it’s a short read with an interesting twist. Sorta like the Super Duper Mart in Fallout 3 without a bunch of raiders trying to kill you.

Despite the game’s description, this story is largely linear. You travel to an island with a companion, dealing with some challenges on your way, ultimately culminating in a final showdown with a few choices including seizing power, perhaps by betrayal.

Choices in the game affect your stats, listed at the bottom of the screen. Having lower stat scores may impact your access to certain choices later, but this is not very elegantly communicated, with a red line of text where the choice should be indicating the unavailable choice and which of your stats fell short. You have a choice to fight your companion at the end, and I think your stats affect the outcome, but the endings as a whole felt pretty short and anticlimactic.

Some parts of the game also didn’t make too much sense. For example, at one part, you encounter an unstable bridge, and can locate unstable parts of it by shooting at them with a pistol to find out. This doesn’t strike me as very realistic or practical. Yes, that helps you get across the bridge safely.

The overall story felt somewhat mediocre. The stat system was ok, I guess, but some of the choices around them weren’t good from a writing standpoint. It’s a short read if you want to take a look. The undo button is handy, I suppose.

Note: This is a review of an Introcomp entry, and therefore, I will not leave any star ratings.

This was actually pretty fun. With simple but charming art, sweet music which adds to the vibe, as well as an interesting story, I think this was worth the additional effort for a download. This introductory game also ends on a cliffhanger, right when things get exciting. I'm certainly eager to see what lies beyond the portal.

There was a slight bit of choices and branching in the introductory segment, along with bad endings if you chicken out instead of taking that leap forward. There was also a character approval system, and a dice roll system, and it would be great if all these mechanics get expanded for the rest of the story. Text rollback is another plus, and if you want to cheat, you can always use it to roll the dice again if the numbers didn't work for you the first time.

All it all, it's a very sweet entry. I'm keen to see what happens next. The little gameplay mechanics mentioned earlier were also nice to have, and hopefully have a place in the completed version too.

Note: This is a review of an Introcomp entry, and therefore, I will not leave any star ratings.

Hmm... this one is tricky. You wake up in the middle in the woods. A Guardian of life, with senses which extend throughout the forest and the power to manipulate nature and build a physical form for yourselves. Suddenly, you see intruders approaching. You get a choice, then the introductory segment ends.

Unless I ran into a bug, the introduction ends with a blank. This is a pretty short introduction, which left me plenty curious about the world and the setting. Actually, being able to read a blurb or something would be nice, and I think the game could tell us more about this place we are in. Some degree of mystery is good to keep my interest up, but at times, I was also a little confused about what was happening.

I'm curious to know what comes next, but I think after the intro, the game could also take the opportunity to flesh out the lore and setting of this world. It seems that there could be some really interesting stuff under the hood. Let us know more about it.

Note: This is a review of an Introcomp entry, and therefore, I will not leave any star ratings.

You find yourself the sole survivor of a major accident. Now, stranded in the wilds, you will have to figure out some way to survive.

The game opts for a minimalistic black background and white text, but somehow, it fit the disaster vibe pretty well. As far as I can tell, while you get a few choices here and there, the game is largely linear. Unless I stumbled upon a bug, the introductory segment ends at a blank page, right as you are figuring out how to survive.

The premise here is pretty good for a contest like Introcomp. After all, when playing as the survivor of a major accident, I'd be dying to know what's gonna happen next. On the other hand, there is another scene which indicates that you survived in the end, which does dampen the suspense and uncertainty.

Well, I'm curious to know what happens next. Hopefully, we'll find out.

You start out at home, playing a wonderfully traditional musical instrument which absolutely does not invoke images of a rock star. Nevertheless, you are bound for greater things. Working with your sibling, you pick up some cooler instruments and try a show. After an unfortunate incident with law enforcement, you decide to form a band and set out to make a name for yourself. Get a manager, sign a deal and rock your way to stardom. As this is a choicegame, you get to pick a name for your band and your songs, as well as yourself.

The story's pacing felt pretty rushed, and individual scenes sometimes felt pretty compressed. The amount of playtime is about what you'd expect with the wordcount, but I think this game could have benefitted from having more words with more time to explore different scenes. There is some flirting and romance, but none of the characters really caught my attention in this department.

At some points, important people will approach you with a contract for your band. Read it quickly, then sign. Still, these folks are in a hurry and do not take kindly to negotiation, so as far as I can tell, your best bet is to sign.

In one case, refusing to sign the contract led to an abrupt game over. No epilogue, no bad end scene, just the rating page. I feel like this could have been handled more elegantly, and I also feel that there could have been some option to hold out for better deals, or perhaps to compare multiple contracts and decide who you should go with. As far as I can tell, it's best to sign on the dotted line and not complicate things for yourself.

The game (minus that abrupt end) has a few endings, including choosing to go it alone or start over. The story and writing was enjoyable, but I can't shake off the feeling that the entire experience felt really compressed. Giving this a star rating was very tricky. I did enjoy the read, but I still feel this could have been better in some areas. Still, you might enjoy it if you take a look.